Currently, wireless devices, also referred to as user equipment (UE), have one or several antennas, which connect to one or more wireless networks in relatively static fashion. Such connections may be fixed, for example, during manufacturing of the UE. In a particular scenario, a first antenna or set of antennas is designated to connect to Radio Access Technology (RAT), a second antenna or set of antennas is designated to connect to a global positioning system (GPS) and a third antenna or set of antennas is designated to connect to a Wi-Fi access point. The antennas are used to connect to their respective networks and the respective antennas cannot be used to connect to a different network or system. For example, the antenna used for connection to the RAT cannot be used to connect to the GPS network, or vice versa.
In 5G telecommunication systems, it is envisioned that the UE could have an array of antennas, and a wireless network with which the UE communicates could be arranged, or sliced, into a number of logical networks, each having distinct characteristics. For example, one logical network (also referred to as a network slice) might have characteristics including low bandwidth, long range reception between a base station (or access station) and UE, and support high speed of movement of the UE with respect to the base station, while another logical network might have characteristics including high bandwidth, low range reception between the base station and the UE, and support a low speed of movement of the UE with respect to the base station.